SEATTLE & SAN FRANCISCO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–#Rover—Rover.com®,
the nation’s largest network of 5-star pet sitters and dog walkers,
today announced it has partnered with award-winning creative agency
Pereira & O’Dell to create and launch a new advertising campaign,
declaring the brand as The Dog People™. This is the first integrated
national advertising campaign for the rapidly growing company. The
campaign, which rolls out nationwide today, portrays a collection of
moments illustrating why Rover and its community of pet sitters and dog
walkers are The Dog People that pet parents prefer for dog care.

“Our goal with this campaign is to show pet parents that Rover can help
them find true dog people who will care for their dog the same way they
would,” said Halle Hutchison, vice president of marketing for Rover.
“Pereira & O’Dell shares our passion for dogs and the campaign they
created is a natural fit for the Rover brand. We’re a community of dog
people in every sense, from our sitters, to the pet parents we serve, to
the Rover employees, and this campaign is reflective of that.”

The objective of the campaign is to increase brand awareness and
consideration among pet parents. Research indicates that most dog owners
don’t like the idea of sending their dog to a kennel or having to call
in favors from friends and family to dog sit. A survey of pet parents
conducted by Rover found that 43 percent said they had opted not to
travel for the holidays because they didn’t want to leave their dog at a
kennel. Rover provides a welcome alternative. With Rover, pet parents
can find and book trusted, highly-rated dog people in their own
neighborhoods, who are backed by the security of a nationwide company.

“With ‘The Dog People’ there’s a huge opportunity for Rover to own the
fast-growing category of specialized dog care,” said Pereira & O’Dell
Executive Creative Director Jason Apaliski. “By showcasing their
one-of-a-kind expertise along with their unique dog-loving personality,
we’ve created a brand platform to build on for years to come.”

Since dogs are the core of everything Rover stands for, the ads feature
five dogs as the lead characters. The stars of the campaign include
Brigitte, a French Bulldog who loves to sing and dance, and was
previously cast as Stella on “Modern Family.” Another dog in the
commercial, Vegas, is a Jack Russell Terrier mix who was rescued off the
streets of Las Vegas. He’s an acting vet who’s ridden in helicopters,
limos and in the arms of A-list celebrities for past roles. A third,
Cecil, believes bloodhounds are lap dogs too, and his best tricks are
hiding under the bed and drooling all over everything. And finally,
Jacie and Jovie are chocolate Labradoodles who were adopted together so
they could play the same role when they go to work. Jacie’s favorite
trick is putting her toys away, and Jovie’s favorite hobby is chasing
her tail.

Rover has established itself as the largest network of dog sitters in
the U.S. with more than 100,000 sitters and more joining daily. And over
the past year it has become the largest dog walking service in the
country with more than 75,000 active dog walkers covering thousands of
cities. Rover recently acquired DogVacay, which will allow the company
to pick up engineering velocity, bring new products to market faster and
invest even more aggressively in building the best tools for sitters and
walkers. This growth and momentum of the business has enabled the
company to make a significant investment in marketing this year,
including a planned media spend of $4.5 million. This represents the
biggest media investment that Rover has made to date, and the largest
effort in the emerging category of online-sourced, peer-to-peer dog care.

Rover.com® is The Dog People™, the nation’s largest network
of 5-star pet sitters and dog walkers. Through Rover, pet parents can
discover, book, and manage personalized care for their dogs, including
pet sitting, dog walking, in-home dog boarding, and doggy day care.
Founded on the belief that everyone should have the opportunity to
experience the unconditional love of a dog, Rover improves and
simplifies life for pet parents and the dogs they love. By connecting
pet parents with dog people in their neighborhood, Rover ensures dogs
nationwide are happy and well-cared for even when their owner is away,
and empowers pet parents to live fulfilling lives. Services are booked
through Rover every minute of every day and over 95% of reviewed
bookings have received a perfect 5-star rating. The platform offers
premium insurance for all services booked through Rover, secure online
payments, world-class customer support, vet consultations, a 24/7 team
of trust and safety agents, reports that include walk maps and activity
tracking, mobile apps, photo and video sharing, and general background
checks for sitters.

About Pereira & O’Dell

Pereira & O’Dell (www.pereiraodell.com)
is an award-winning advertising agency with offices in San Francisco and
New York. The agency combines techniques from traditional advertising,
digital, PR and design to create innovative campaigns, programs, and
products that are in sync with how consumers behave today. Pereira &
O’Dell has been named by Advertising Age as Agency of the Year, and by
Fast Company as one of the “10 Most Innovative Companies in
Advertising.” Among the Pereira & O’Dell client roster are Coca-Cola,
eBay, Fifth Third Bank, Timberland, Realtor.com, Adobe and Memorial
Sloan Kettering.